Moon Township, Pa. – Robert Morris University head football coach John Banaszak will be one of four inductees to join the United States Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. The fourth-year head coach will become part of an exclusive club that includes just 45 members since the inception of the USMC Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
 
The Colonials fourth-year head coach will attend the induction ceremony at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va., Wednesday, July 12. Three others will be inducted that day as well – major league baseball player and manager Dusty Baker, NFL Hall of Famer Clifford Battles, and former light heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Loughran.
 
Banaszak reported to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in January of 1969 after enlisting out of high school. In his two-year appointment, he spent three months at Camp Lejeune for three months before finishing his time on active duty at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. While enlisted, Banaszak received the National Defense Service Medal and Rifle Expert Badge.
 
Banaszak officially became the RMU head coach in December 2013. He had been selected as Coach-In-Waiting in January 2012 at a press conference at the Charles L. Sewall Center, allowing for a simple transition following the 2013 campaign. He served as an assistant coach and assistant head coach for the Colonials for 11 consecutive years prior to taking over the top spot.
 
Under his guidance, RMU has boasted some of the top defenses and special teams in the country, including his 11 seasons as an assistant coach with the Colonials. In three seasons at the helm, his players have earned 14 all-conference honors including two players to earn Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year honors.
 
Prior to RMU, Banaszak served as the 30th head coach in Washington & Jefferson football history, leading the Presidents to a record of 38-9 (.809) in his four seasons on the sidelines between 1999 and 2002. In each of those four campaigns, he was named the Presidents' Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and ranks third on the college's all-time victory list. He helped W&J qualify for the NCAA Tournament in each of his four years as the Presidents registered wins in three of those appearances.
 
A graduate of Eastern Michigan with a bachelor's degree in health, physical education and recreation, Banaszak signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to the 1975 season and was one of only three rookies to make the defending Super Bowl champion team out of training camp.
 
Primarily a special teams player on Pittsburgh's Super Bowl X championship team, Banaszak started five games the following season and then started at both right end and inside tackle in 1977 before suffering a knee injury that forced him to the injured reserve list.
 
Between 1978 and 1980, Banaszak started 45 regular-season games at defensive end as the Steelers won back-to-back Super Bowl championships. In Super Bowl XIII, Banaszak recorded six tackles, including a pair of sacks, and a fumble recovery in a 35-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, which garnered him Defensive Player of the Game honors. The following year in Super Bowl XIV, Banaszak finished with five tackles and a sack in a 31-19 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
 
Upon completion of his stint with the Steelers, Banaszak spent the 1983 and 1984 seasons with the Michigan Panthers of the USFL. He then moved on to serve as a player/coach with the Memphis Showboats, also of the USFL, in 1985. While with the Showboats, Banaszak mentored former NFL standout Reggie White.